2017 Brunello di Montalcino, Cerbaiona

‘I won’t hide a certain satisfaction in obtaining such a balanced, expressive and pleasurable Brunello from 2017. The 2017 Cerbaiona Brunello was harvested almost entirely from the oldest section of vines on the estate, older vines that had a greater ability to manage the limited water resources. A whole berry fermentation (not to be confused with whole cluster) provided a much gentler extraction. I then limited the time in wood (17HL and 15HL Slavonian oak casks, 50% second year 50% new) to the minimum, racked only twice, and bottled in April 2020. Granted, this last element will detract from the 2017 in being a long ager (it is a lighter bodied Brunello) but I consider this to be the necessary sacrifice to obtain a balanced and finessed Brunello in 2017.